Updated: March 28, 2024
Name: Katanaeva Lyudviga Leonidovna
Date of Birth: February 1, 1967
Current status: Defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Current restrictions: Recognizance agreement

Biography

In the summer of 2019, a wave of searches took place in Vladivostok. Masked law enforcement officers with machine guns broke into the homes of six believers; one of whom is Lyudviga Katanaeva.

Lyudviga was born in 1967 in Vladivostok. From the age of 2, under the guidance of her father, she began ice-skating; later she studied at art and music schools and was interested in tourism and folk dances. She has a younger sister.

After school, Lyudviga studied inlay art at college. Later she graduated from a Tourism Academy. She worked as an artist in the painting workshop at a porcelain factory. For a while, Lyudviga held the position of a graphic designer, worked in the hotel industry for several years in a row, and later trained as a manicure and pedicure professional. She is currently a housekeeper and a babysitter.

Lyudviga enjoys helping others. In her youth, she often devoted time to children and teenagers from dysfunctional families. As a result, some of those children were taken off the police register. For this, the Department of Internal Affairs of the Primorye Territory awarded her a certificate of honor.

Traveling and getting to know different people, cultures and architectural features of different cities and countries bring real pleasure to Lyudviga. She also likes to go camping with her friends in nature.

For many years, Lyudviga searched different religions for answers to vital questions, and early in 2000 she learned that the Bible has the answers. They turned out to be simple and logical, which attracted the young woman. Lyudviga raised her daughter alone, and when she learned Bible truths, she began to apply the advice from the Holy Scriptures in doing so.

The criminal prosecution affected the health of the believer: her eyesight and memory deteriorated and her sleep was disturbed due to the constant expectation of a second search. Relatives who do not share the religious views of Lyudviga are outraged by the unfair prosecution of law-abiding citizens of Russia.

Case History

In the early morning of July 2018, a group of masked armed security forces invaded the apartment of 90-year-old grandmother Yelena Barmakina, after which Dmitriy wife Yelena was imprisoned in a pre-trial detention center for 447 days. Later, Yelena herself was accused of extremism because of her religion and the family’s bank accounts were blocked. The believer’s case was considered by the Pervorechensky District Court of Vladivostok. In September 2020, the court returned the case to the prosecutor. In August 2021, investigator Tarasenko opened a criminal case against a peaceful believer Yuriy Redozubov and merged Barmakina’s case into one proceeding with the cases against Redozubov, Lonchakov, Katanaeva, Astvatsaturova, Tregub, Tsorn and the Verigin spouses. In June 2022, the case went to court.